LAUAN603 - Weekly Update - Animatic and Credit Sequence

For the past week I have been working on updating the animatic as I have completed shots. I have added all the other shots that my collogues have contributed to my project, and added the voice lines as well as updated soundtrack. I have edited them all together and made some slight camera adjustments to make the shots more dynamic. I will be adding more in the coming post-production weeks.

Updated Animatic:

I have updated a few things in this animatic. I have completely rearranged the credit sequence. I have made the credits easier to read and fixed the animation of the horse. I have also added a texture overlay to the sequence to make it looks more like a Western movie. 

I have been editing everything together in Adobe Premiere Pro

Backgrounds have been updated to look messier.

Scenes are on schedule, some stills are able to be animated.

We still need more of the backgrounds at the moment, about 3 or 4 more.

Tarant's voice acting needs updating.

Notes

- Make the credit texts smaller - Low horizon line

- Horse Animation - Make movement more dynamic: Make horse run from the spine (Refine if enough time)

- ...And Hell Followed With Him - Get rid of the (...) and make it a title. Make it a subtitle.

- Allan kitching

- Marow's Voice lines: Make Marow's jaw open slightly when he talks.

- Scene 28: Not necessary, low priority.

LAUAN603 - Weekly Update

Over the last weeks I have been working on a few different shots for my project. I have been In Betweening, Key Framing and Colouring animated and still shots. 

Shot 3 

Key Frames by Emily Kate Mullis

In betweening and colouring (Main Character) (Background by Jason Lam)

I am very happy with how the inbetweening of this shot turned out, as well as the colouring. It all seems to match with the background well.

Shot 23

This shot in particular was meant to be a still shot, but because I had time, I created some animation to make it more visually appealing. This shot was completely animated by myself

(Background by Jason Lam)

Arm Sketch

For the arm, I made a simple a to b movement to save time, but still keep it effective. I made this slow movement to represent that Marow is feeling tired or annoyed at Isla's taunts.

 

Final Outcome

 

I'm quite happy with the way this shot turned out. I tried to make the movements as subtle as possible while keeping most of the background obstructed by Marow while Isla walks towards the door.

Shot 11 

Shot 11 is a still shot. I used Clip Studio to draw the characters. This scene still requires some drawn VFX of dust by the door, as well as some camera movement. 

(Background by Jason Lam)

Rough Sketch

Refined Sketch

Final Outcome

I tried to make the character placement as consistent as possible with the rest of the film. I will need to add some colour adjustments and blurring to make the composition better.

What went well:

- Fluid in between frames and decent colouring.

- Consistent line width / quality.

- Well-conveyed character emotions via body language.

What to improve:

- Composition (Can be done in post production)

LAUAN603 - Weekly Update

Over the past few weeks I have been working hard on various different scenes of my personal project. I have been directing, animating and editing together particular scenes of my project. 

Shot 7

For shot 7, my job was to keyframe the door of the saloon opening. I made a rough sketch of the door opening and slowly tried to find each key frame of the process.

Rough Key Frames

 

Key Frames

 

Final Outcome (By Amy Marshall and Rachel Reid) (Background by Jason Lam)

My contributions to this scene are Keyframes only.

The next scene I completed was key framing shot 23.

Shot 22 Key Frames

For this scene in particular, I struggled with drawing the characters in that angle and distance, so it was highly out of my comfort zone. Happily enough, I managed to make it look decently drawn and timed.

Final Outcome

(In betweening and colouring by Amy Marshall) (Background by Jason Lam)

The next shot I worked on was shot 14. For shot 14, I did the inbetweening and colouring of the main character of the shot, Marow. 

Shot 14 Key Frames (By Emily Kate Mullis)

Shot 14 In Betweening and Colouring

For this shot in particular, I need to make some slight adjustments after hearing some feedback on how the character talks. I need to colour in the gaps between his cheeks and make him open his mouth. I also need to add eyes and a eerie glow.

What went well:

- Decent contributions to the selected shots.

- Consistent linework and colours.

- Good communication between work partners.

What to improve:

- Tweak shot 14 to improve character movement.

LAUAN602 - Study Task 3 - Network

 For this study task we are required to identify different networking opportunities, as well as set up a professional LinkedIn account.

LinkedIn Account Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhys-elliott-2039381a1/ 

I have updated my LinkedIn account and have posted what I want to look for as a career. I am hoping that I will attract anybody in the industry who can help me achieve my goals in starting my own freelance business.

Networking / Job opportunities

While my eventual goal will be to start my own Freelance business, I may need to join studios before I can commit to being truly independent. Because of this, I will try network with as many people as I can, as well as job opportunities that I can take.

1. Waste Creative

https://www.waste-creative.com/

Waste Creative is an animation and illustration agency that I could possibly join. They specialize in the above topics. It would be a possible career path to follow.

2. Pictoplasma 

https://conference.pictoplasma.com/berlin/

Pictoplasma is a contemporary character design and art conference / festival based in Berlin. The next festival will be held on August 25th this year. I may attend myself. 

3. Fiverr 

https://www.fiverr.com/?source=top_nav

Fiverr is an online website where freelancers of all kinds can advertise their services. This applies from voice acting to character creation. I myself have hired a voice actress from Fiverr before, and I think it could be a decent start to advertising my own services.

4. Manchester Animation Festival

https://www.manchesteranimationfestival.co.uk/

Manchester Animation Festival is a festival I have attended twice before. It is an opportunity to submit animated projects and network with people all across the world. While I attended in 2020, I think I did not pay too much attention as I was focused on university work. Therefore, I will be attending next year, hopefully in person, to network and give myself an opportunity to network with others.

5. The VTX festival 2021

https://www.pearsoncollegelondon.ac.uk/escape-studios/the-vfx-festival.html 

The VFX Festival is a games, animation and VFX festival that will take place on March 9th. While I realistically won't be able to attend this festival this year, I hope I will be able to in 2022.

6. The Lakes International Comic Art Festival

https://www.comicartfestival.com/

This is a comic arts festival based in Kendal. Since I want to pursue narrative-led media, I think it would be a good idea to attend this festival.

7. Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival

http://www.kotatsufestival.com/

Kotatsu is a Japanese Animation Festival based in Wales. It will be a good opportunity for me to learn more about different cultural practices to animation and visual media. 

8. London International Animation Festival 

https://twitter.com/londonanimation?lang=en

9. UKCGF

https://www.ukcgf.com/

UKCGF is a Comic Con agency that hosts festivals across the United Kingdom. I may attend one of these festivals if possible in order to gain information and possibly new networking opportunities.

10. Twitter

https://twitter.com/SalsaberryBoi 

Twitter is by far the largest social media platform for artists and content creators around the world. While there is a lot of competition on this site, it is a good way to collaborate and network with other artists and animators.  

11. Minds.com

https://www.minds.com/salsaberry/ 

Minds is an alternative social media platform with a few differences from Twitter. You are able to donate to other users directly, as well as apply for memberships. I have set up my own personal account there and hope to try and gather an audience. 

12. Annecy International Animation Festival 

https://www.annecy.org/home

Annecy festival is an international animation festival based in France. It seems to be a good opportunity to network with animators around the globe. 

LinkedIn Connections:

I have connected with 12 individuals who are mostly freelance illustrators or animators:

Some of these people have followed me back, while others are still pending.

LAUAN603 - Update

 Over the past few weeks I have been working on various scenes for my animated film. I have been focusing on solely completing my assigned scenes.

Scene 20

Scene 21

These two shots were quite easy to animated, as I had a direct reference to animate from, a reference I filmed myself:

For scene 20 I added my own style to the poker cards, specifically the jack card, and labelled them as a Jack and Ace card, to foreshadow the level of skill between Isla and Marow.

There could be a few improvements, such as timing and line quality, but overall these scenes turned out decently well.

Scene 25

Line art Animation

Final Outcome (Colouring by Amy Marshal)

Reference

This scene was harder to complete, but I think it turned out alright. I did all the animation while Amy Marshal did the colouring. 

Scene 2

This scene is a still, although I may add some animation to it if I have the time. The background is still required, and might include some vfx.

Scene 6

This scene in particular was far harder to complete, and took me a lot of time due to the movements and the designs of the characters. Despite this, I feel it turned out rather well. While the characters may be slightly off model, it's mostly small parts of it that seem to be.

Shot 28

This is another still shot in my film. It is the final shot in the film and will require a background.